On Wednesday, House of Representatives members called for equal standing with the Senate, arguing that it is not subordinate to the upper chamber of the National Assembly.
The call was sequel to adopting a motion sponsored by Philip Agbese (APC-Benue) in conjunction with 235 members at plenary on Wednesday.
President Bola Tinubu, in a live broadcast on Independence Day, conferred the honour of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) on Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The president also conferred the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) on the speaker of the House of Representatives and the deputy Senate president.
Moving the motion, Mr Agbese argued that the federal parliament is constitutionally established as a bicameral legislature comprising two equal chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives, as stipulated in Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution.
He said the Constitution recognises both chambers operating within a framework that ensures the legislative independence and equality of both chambers.
Mr Agbese said Section 47 of the Constitution explained that each chamber plays distinct but complementary legislative roles. He said the house was concerned about the inappropriate culture of discrimination against the House of Representatives, often portrayed as inferior to the Senate.
According to him, the language consistently refers to the Senate as the upper chamber and the House of Representatives as the lower chamber. He also said the Senate president is often referred to as the chairman of the National Assembly while the speaker is referred to as deputy chairman, which inaccurately implies a hierarchical structure contrary to the Constitution and undermines the speaker’s authority.
“This discriminatory practice was once again evidenced during the recent conferment of National Honours on the leadership of the National Assembly by Mr President. While expressing our gratitude to Mr President for recognising and honouring the leadership of the National Assembly, we note that the conferment of the title GCON on the president of the Senate and the CFR on the speaker of the House of Representatives and Deputy President of the Senate perpetuates the inappropriate subordination of the speaker to the president of the Senate.
“The Chief Justice of Nigeria, who is lower in protocol ranking than the speaker of the House of Representatives, was also awarded the title of GCON, further exemplifying this culture of discrimination against the leadership of the house,” Mr Agbese reasoned.
He added, “The speaker of the house is a co-leader of the legislative arm of government, and this must be recognised and respected in all respects.”
The lawmaker also pointed out that the National Honours Act of 1964 does not explicitly prescribe the conferment of specific honours, such as the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) for the president of the Senate or the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) for the speaker.
According to him, these distinctions are rooted in customary practice rather than statutory requirements.
“Further note that the honour of GCON is not restricted to any particular office or individual but can be awarded to any distinguished Nigerian deemed deserving by the president.
“This is evidenced by the recent conferment of GCON on Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala by former President Muhammadu Buhari. This house acknowledges the flexibility inherent in the National Honours system and the prerogative of the president in the allocation of such distinctions,” he stated.
The house resolved that the speaker be recognised as co-chairman of the National Assembly in all respects and requested that all references to the leadership of the National Assembly reflect equality.
The house resolved that the clerk of the National Assembly be directed to ensure that all communications, orders, and publications from the National Assembly henceforth refer to both the speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate president as co-heads of the parliament.
The house resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to liaise with the presidency and propose amendments to the National Honours Act of 1964 to appropriately recognise the speaker of the House of Representatives as co-head of the federal parliament.
The house also requested the conferment of the national honour of GCON upon the speaker to ensure parity in recognition with the Senate president, which should be accomplished before the formal decoration by the president.
The house urged the president to uphold the spirit of bicameral equality as enshrined in the Constitution when making decisions and recommendations that concern the leadership of the National Assembly.
(NAN)
